Wright Allen ruled on Bostic v. Rainey, the lawsuit challenging Virginia’s ban on same-sex marriage, last week, stating the ban was unconstitutional. Wright Allen is a parent of a student at Norfolk Christian Schools.

“We are not here to hurt any child, including her child,” said Kerr. “We’re making a statement, that a child does best when they have a mother and a father in the home.”

One driver stopped in the middle of Granby Street to argue with protesters. Self-proclaimed atheist Stephanie Cox said, “In government, it shouldn’t be up to Christians to decide what’s in government or not … the government does not make moral law. That’s not their job. They’re to protect and serve everybody, whether you’re Muslim, Hindu, Atheist or gay.”

10 On Your Side reached out to Judge Wright-Allen and her pastor, Jim Wood, but neither responded.

The judge stayed her decision, which means same-sex couples cannot get married in Virginia now. The case will go before another judge on appeal.

Angry parents sent the following letter to Norfolk Christian Thursday, announcing plans to protest:

Dear Norfolk Christian School,

We will be picketing your school today because Judge Arenda Wright Allen is a parent there.

We respect Norfolk Christian as one of the leading private and Christian schools in Hampton Roads. Some of us have had a child or grandchild attend there.

Knowing Norfolk Christian’s statement of faith – particularly that “The Holy Scriptures are verbally inspired by God and are our only infallible rule of faith and practice,” we are protesting the fact that Judge Arenda Allen has made a federal court decision allowing same-sex marriage in Virginia. This directly violates God’s Word in the Holy Scriptures.

Because Judge Allen is a parent in the school who must adhere to the statement of faith, we feel her court decision goes against all that Norfolk Christian stands for in the community.

All Christians of good faith in Virginia have been assaulted by Judge Allen’s decision – particularly our children. We Christians in Hampton Roads are totally against Judge Allen’s decision because it is totally against God. We are asking Norfolk Christian to reevaluate Judge Allen’s qualifications as a parent in good standing at the school.

This letter will be included in our press release to the media today.

Respectfully,

Louantha Kerr Frances Bouton

The following letter was sent to parents of students at Norfolk Christian Schools about the protest:

Dear Families and Friends of Norfolk Christian,

You may hear from your children today about a display of protest against one of our school’s families, concerning its relationship with Norfolk Christian. First and foremost, let me assure you that this was a very small, peaceable demonstration which we were informed of minutes before it began. As a matter of protocol, we heightened our normal security measures, even though we were confident there was no threat to our students or property. You may also see bits and pieces of this story in the press, so I’d like to give you a heads-up, while maintaining as much privacy for that family as possible.

We were asked this morning to respond to a professional decision made by one of our parents, which has significant impact on the community. It was challenged that this decision went against Norfolk Christian’s Statement of Faith and implied that we should take some action based on that.

Norfolk Christian’s foundational belief is that the Bible is the inherent, infallible Word of God; it is our absolute Guide. We do not attempt to manipulate it and will never apologize for it. At least one parent of every student at Norfolk Christian signs our Statement of Faith supporting that belief and provides a personal testimony of a relationship with Jesus Christ during the initial step of our admissions process. These things are facts.

When questioned today about how to handle business decisions made by parents which seem to conflict with those beliefs, the answer was simple: how our parents conduct their professional affairs has nothing to do with Norfolk Christian or its call to educate children in the Name of Christ.

As our High School Principal Dan Tubbs so aptly noted today, “We stand on the Word of God.” That’s really the whole story. Anytime our stance on an issue is questioned, we will go to the Word and it will not fail us. And as for our families, they are ours to protect, nurture and support and we will continue to be unwavering in our commitment to do so.